Three People Lucky to be Alive After Being Rescued from a Burning Car

An off-duty Miller County deputy, his wife and another area resident are being given credit for their quick actions over the weekend which, likely, saved the lives of three people involved in that fiery crash on Route-C in the Ulman area.

“Really we just saw that it hit the tree, and then we saw the flames coming out of the hood. So we ran over there to try and get everybody out…kind of a reaction thing,” says Deputy Sergeant Matthew Burkhead…..who along with his wife, Lisa, and nearby resident Tony McDowell, didn’t hesitate to get involved.

Two of the three occupants in the car suffered what the highway patrol called serious injuries and were further described as conscious and alert when they were taken to Lake Regional.

As far as the Burkhead’s and McDowell are concerned, they are downplaying being called heroes.

“Any deputy, I believe, would have done the same thing. I look at my wife as a hero, and Tony for sure…because like I said, they don’t sign up to do the things that deputies do or the fire department does. It’s just one of those things that they were willing to help, and that makes them the heroes for wanting to jump in and help out.”